Became a Mechromancer - Chapter 42
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This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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Chapter 42.
2nd Floor (2)
Kyiiieeek!
A shriek pierced the air once more, like a bird-scaring cannon blasting through an orchard.
Now that Doo-ho had regained his composure, he activated his bird’s-eye view ability.
A minimap unfurled within his mind.
And when a mana signature registered roughly 300 meters to the northwest, Doo-ho’s expression shifted subtly.
“That’s not human…?”
It was the same mana signature as the beasts that had appeared on his minimap until now.
Isto narrowed his LED eyes into an ominous line as he asked.
-Not human?
“You should’ve told me if you knew.”
-This is how you learn bit by bit, Dark. Ehehehe.
Kyiieee! Kyiieeek!
This time, a slightly different tone to the screams.
Though Doo-ho knew it was a beast, the situation left him too unsettled to ignore.
Hawkeye spoke with a sneer, peering through his scope at Isto.
-Since I promised to go, I’ll confirm and handle it.
“Right, so where exactly is it…?”
-With this much repetition, I can gauge the location.
Whoosh.
Hawkeye’s form became transparent as he scaled the massive wooden pillar, his presence vanishing without a trace.
* * *
Inside the Garage.
Tap.
Isto set a monitor smaller than his palm down onto the workbench.
It was a 240p monitoring device he’d purchased from the Parts Shop not long ago.
What was interesting was that Hawkeye’s point of view was being transmitted to the screen in real time.
Doo-ho narrowed his eyes as he gazed at the display.
“…It’s pretty small, isn’t it?”
Isto let out a regretful sound from beside him.
-I sold my specialty(?) far too cheaply! If I’d just added one more zero, I could’ve upgraded to a bigger monitoring device.
Just as Doo-ho was about to offer a sharp retort.
Isto thrust forward a stand equipped with a large magnifying glass.
Tada~~~.
-That’s why I prepared this!
“A magnifying glass? Where did this come from?”
-From the internet! Ehehehe.
Isto puffed out his chest proudly once he’d finished the setup.
-That’s reassuring!
Good grief.
Even when they’re annoying sometimes, moments like this remind me they have their cute side.
The two of them watched the screen through the magnifying glass.
The enlarged pixels were distracting, but compared to the beginning, it was quite watchable.
On the screen.
Hawkeye was sprinting rapidly along a tree branch.
The sense of presence was like playing an FPS game.
It wasn’t long before reaching the destination.
As expected, there was no Hunter.
Instead….
A massive and beautiful flower bloomed. Soft violet petals. The stem was as thick as an adult man’s torso.
Doo-ho opened his eyes wide and checked the Quest window again.
『Binding Blossom』
“So that’s the plant-type magical beast I’d only heard about.”
-That’s correct!
That was when.
-Help me…, sob sob honey… I don’t want to die.
A man’s voice echoed from beyond the monitor. Each time the Binding Blossom’s petals trembled, an eerie sound was produced.
‘That’s not in any strategy guide I’ve seen.’
I turned to look at Isto.
“How did you know it was a Binding Blossom?”
-The human screams that the Binding Blossom mimicked sounded far too consistent to me.
“Then you should have told me beforehand.”
Isto shook his head.
-If Doo-ho had been anxious, Hawkeye wouldn’t have gone.
…Hawkeye?
This bastard deliberately didn’t tell me so he could send Hawkeye.
Looking at it this way, there’s no villain quite like him.
A sudden thought occurred to me.
‘If it’s plant-type, can’t I handle it too?’
After all, I’m Doo-ho, who once clashed with the world’s number one assassin.
But.
-It’s dangerous!
-The Binding Blossom continuously disperses hallucinations and paralytic toxin within a 10-meter radius.
In other words.
‘If I had gone, I would have been drawn into hallucinations and become that creature’s nutrients.’
Only then did I understand why the data lacked detailed information.
It’s because approaching it is difficult.
And that’s also why we need to form a party from here on.
If I wandered alone and got caught by a Binding Flower.
Ugh….
I shook off the horrifying thought and glanced to the side, where Isto’s LED eyes sparkled with the eagerness of seeking praise.
“Good work.”
-Ehehehehehe. Much obliged.
I refocused on the screen.
The viewpoint shifted, revealing Hawkeye perched atop a tree, raising an energy bow.
As the bowstring drew taut, blue light coalesced, and an arrow materialized.
Shweeek─ Thunk!
The luminous arrow released from the string pierced through the thick flower stem.
After a brief interval, a follow-up strike came.
The improved rate of fire was evident at a glance.
Shweeek! Thud.
The second arrow severed the Binding Flower’s stem, and it toppled.
Hawkeye descended from the tree. But then that creature suddenly drew out a steel arrow!
‘Why that?’
Whoosh─!
From the severed stem of the Binding Flower, a new tendril erupted and burrowed in as a thick vine.
Whoa….
“It’s grafting itself back together?”
-That one’s real nasty.
Only then did Doo-ho understand why Hawkeye had drawn the steel arrow.
Hawkeye approached the Binding Flower.
-Stop… it hurts….
A woman’s drawn-out voice flowed through the monitoring speaker.
The tone was strange somehow, like a broken doll.
And….
Crrrack!
The center of the Binding Flower split open, revealing sharp teeth from within the petals.
-I’m sorry, Mom….
Along with those senseless words, it tried to swallow Hawkeye whole.
Snap!
The steel arrow lashed against the petals.
Snap snap snap!
-Ahhh! Ahhh! Help me!!
The Binding Flower trembled its petals in desperation.
But.
Crack!
-It hurts… it hurts so much….
Crack crack crack.
-Stop….
Hawkeye didn’t cease the barrage. If anything, it intensified.
Crack!
-It hurts….
Thud!
-Just kill me already!!!
Thwack!!
The bound flower wilted under the final blow.
[You have gained experience.]
Hawkeye in the display lifted her head.
The scope sweeping the surroundings rapidly zoomed in and out repeatedly.
Hmm…
-A colony, I see.
With those words.
Bound flower blossoms were lifting their heads from among the nearby vines.
Hawkeye raised the energy bow as well.
Whoosh—.
In the past, she would have fired once and waited quite a while before shooting again.
Thwip! Thud! Thwip!
Now arrows were loosed while simultaneously light was chambered.
[You have gained experience.]
[You have gained experience.]
[You have gained experience…]
Just as the bound flowers pierced through their centers by arrows fell limply.
A system window materialized in the Garage’s empty space.
[Hidden Reward]
Condition: Fastest clear of 10 Bound Ones
Reward: 100 Points
“I didn’t even accept a Hidden Quest… why is this showing up?”
Oh!
-There was a hidden reward here, it seems.
“You know about this?”
-I saw it on the Hunter Rumor Board.
“Rumor… board?”
-It said that when unexpected achievements match the conditions, they appear.
‘Ah, so that’s what “rumor” means.’
Just then, Hawkeye’s voice echoed in my mind.
-It was only possible because Necromancer increased your firing speed.
I looked at the system window again.
‘I was wondering how to earn points, and here they are.’
Unexpected points and Hawkeye’s improved performance alike.
…This is a good start.
* * *
Shortly after.
The three of us gathered at the Garage.
Inside the Garage, time doesn’t flow—a space frozen in stasis. Since we’d entered the Abyss later than usual, wasting time was out of the question.
‘Once morning comes, hunters will flood in en masse.’
Besides, it was the perfect place for the three of us to put our heads together for strategy, with no risk of being discovered.
Looking at the quest rewards, I tilted my head.
“Furious Charge?”
At my words, Isto’s LED eyes glowed a vivid crimson as he answered.
Master!
-This seems to be a skill that bypasses the power limiter and floods us with mana, sending us into a rampage!
A rampage?
…Hawkeye might actually find that useful.
“If you’re this excited about it, Isto, it’s probably not a good skill.”
-Huh? Huh?!
Seeing the flustered Isto, I let out a soft chuckle to show I was joking.
Then a thought suddenly struck me.
‘If Isto’s limiter comes off… just how strong would he become?’
Hmm…
Since he’s the one who carried even the Black Dragon, I can’t even begin to imagine it.
At that moment, Hawkeye, who had placed the Bound One essence stones we’d collected into the essence stone box, spoke up.
-Defeating the main body will be quite a challenging task.
“Why is that?”
-That binding vine is merely a small fragment of the main body.
Doo-ho’s eyes widened at this unfamiliar information.
Hawkeye continued the explanation.
-Humans wouldn’t know this, but there is only one original root beneath all the vines covering this area.
In other words.
“The entire Forest is a single living organism?”
-Precisely. The problem is that the main body itself is entangled beneath the surface, making physical removal nearly impossible.
Isto chimed in impulsively.
-Just go out there and blow it all to smithereens!
The range marked on the map alone was staggering—what was he even saying?
Doo-ho shook his head at the phrase “Abyss Layer 1 Annihilation” listed under failure conditions.
“Doesn’t it feel like the system is telling us to stay buried in Layer 1?”
-You mustn’t give up!
-I shall incinerate this very body and turn this entire region into a sea of flames!
Isto suddenly began heating his body to a crimson glow.
“No, wait.”
-Hm?
“Don’t lose your head. Let’s think this through.”
The more I stared at the map, the deeper my concern grew.
This wasn’t like finding a needle in a desert.
‘How am I supposed to find the main body in this vast Forest?’
Then Isto grumbled, pointing a finger at the green marking on the map.
-I don’t think we need to go to that place.
“Huh?”
-Usually these Quests connect to lower layers, but our Quest is to devastate the 2nd Floor, isn’t it?
Well…
That made sense.
Isto was right.
‘Should I just set it on fire?’
I casually glanced at the memo on the green marking.
『The massive roots are spectacular』
“Someone’s sightseeing like a tourist.”
-Exactly! Why is our Quest always so difficult!
-The system’s scheming is undeniable.
Both of them vented their frustration.
Suddenly, Doo-ho’s eyes snapped wide open.
Wow… chills.
“Isto, you’re a genius, aren’t you?”
-Hm??
As question marks lit up in Isto’s LED eyes, Doo-ho tapped the memo.
“It’s the text from the place you pointed to.”
-The massive root, then?
Ooooooooo!!!
Isto’s LED eyes shifted into star shapes as he read aloud.
Doo-ho asked.
“Doesn’t the massive root seem like the main body?”
Hawkeye interjected quickly.
-Since the main body has only one root, we can be certain.
Doo-ho checked the Quest window again.
『Subjugation of Binding Root Main Body 0/1』
There was another reason I thought so.
The location marked in green on the map was the Corridor leading down to the 2nd Floor.
So….
‘We’re probably on a linked Quest too.’
Doo-ho pocketed the map and steeled himself.
“We’ve got nothing to lose. Let’s go.”
* * *
Upon exiting the Garage, the acrid smell of grass pricked my nostrils.
The Forest had always been quiet, but the air density had changed.
A clammy moisture clung to my skin—an unpleasant sensation.
Huh?
“What is this?”
My foot sank straight through.
The marshy ground that had been squelching now swallowed me up to my ankles.
Moreover, writhing vines were reshaping the terrain.
‘Why all of a sudden?!’
-It seems the Forest has recognized us as enemies because of the Binding Root we subjugated moments ago.
Hawkeye’s conjecture hardened into certainty.
Swish, swish.
The surrounding terrain rippled and began closing in, as if to trap Doo-ho’s party.
Fortunately, the massive trees remained unchanged.
Watching Isto sink into the murky swamp up to his torso, I gave the order.
“You—get back into the Garage! Hawkeye and I will move through the trees.”
-That is not possible.
Doo-ho pulled the map from his pocket and handed it to Isto.
“It’s fine. Use this to act as our navigator.”
-…Understood.
Isto entered the Garage.
Hawkeye and Doo-ho moved into the trees.
-Head toward the 3 o’clock direction!
Isto’s navigation echoed through my mind.
With Hawkeye leading, we began to move forward.
Spot! Crack. Crack.
My footsteps on the twigs responded with sharp precision.
‘So this is how assassination techniques are applied.’
-About two meters ahead, turn right.
‘That guy’s good.’
In an instant, vines tried to coil around my waist, but the nanobots that flowed out swatted them away.
Phew.
‘This is hectic.’
Shweeek—.
It was when Hawkeye’s arrow ahead tore through the vines.
Kugugugugu—!
The earth trembled as vines ahead clumped together.
Taking shape and approaching rapidly.
…An arm?
The approaching shadow loomed over my head.
Soon a fist made of vines descended rapidly.
-Macromancer!
-Doo-ho!
A desperate moment as the massive arm tried to snatch me up.
Glimmer.
The Ring of Evasion on my finger glowed faintly.
My body twisted free from the vine’s grasp, but another arm came crashing down.
I!
“I survived the Abyss Rift and came back alive!”
I cried out desperately, reaching out my hand.
Sssssss—!!
A silver storm erupted from my entire body.
A scale incomparable to anything before.
Whoooosh…
The nanobots cut through the air and wrapped around the massive vine arm in reverse.
Crunch! Crack! Screeeech—!!
The vines collapsed from within, and green sap burst forth like a fountain.
I stood there dazed for a moment.
Whether it was from my accumulated experience or the effect of the Ring of Evasion, I couldn’t tell.
But one thing was certain.
I…
“Am stronger than I thought?”
Then, vines surged forward once more.
Hawkeye, who had drawn near without warning, seized Doo-ho by the waist.
Before I could even utter a word of thanks, Hawkeye spoke first.
-Don’t speak from this moment on.
“Huh?”
-Your tongue will shatter.
In the next instant, a mechanical whine erupted from Hawkeye’s chest, tearing through the air.
Whiiiiiiiing!!!!!
The next moment.
Boom!!!
Hawkeye’s form, cradling Doo-ho, vanished.
A fleeting silence.
And then….
Crash!
A sonic boom, delayed by a single beat, lashed across the Forest.
Crack—
The vines that had been pursuing ferociously tangled and shattered, scattering into the void.
Became a Mecromancer
Author |
Gungang e
Published |
February 25, 2026
Publisher |
TalesYX
Website |
https://talesyx.com
Email |
[email protected]
ⓒ Gungang e, 2026
This publication is protected by copyright law and may not be reproduced or transmitted without permission.
UCI |
G720:N+A277-20260210015.0042
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This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
—————